


Proposals of the Inquisitors

by liveinink



Series: Adaar & Pentaghast [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Friendship, Marriage Proposal, Minor Blackwall/Male Trevelyan, Minor Female Cadash/Cullen Rutherford, Minor Josephine Montilyet/Female Trevelyan, Minor Male Lavellan/Dorian Pavus, Minor Sera/Female Trevelyan, Multiple Inquisitors (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 06:28:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30135393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liveinink/pseuds/liveinink
Summary: Adaar wants her proposal to be everything Cassandra could want. Her fellow Inquisitors help reassure her.Set post-TresspasserPart of a series but can be read separately
Relationships: Female Adaar/Cassandra Pentaghast, Female Inquisitor/Cassandra Pentaghast
Series: Adaar & Pentaghast [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2219070
Kudos: 3





	Proposals of the Inquisitors

“Okay,” Nikka Adaar dispelled the flame in her hand as she finished lighting the candles. “Okay,” She took a steadying breath. “Everything’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Maxwell teased. “It’s not like you’ve spent countless hours, weeks, months, however long, planning this in intricate detail.”

It would probably be wrong to mind blast the Herald of Andraste. Tempting though. 

Nikka looked around the space she’d set up. She picked the spot where she and Cassandra had first begun their relationship. It was private, peaceful, symbolic. It was perfect. And Cassandra deserved perfect.

But was it perfect? Nikka inspected the small space her fellow inquisitors had helped her set up. The candles, the flowers... she had tried to keep it romantic but simple, she worried she’d overdo it otherwise, but was it enough? She supposed what she was going to say was more important than the setting, but she couldn’t afford to worry about that right now. She’d planned, she’d practiced, she couldn’t allow herself to become even more anxious and distracted. 

“Nikka,” Trista called over to her gently. “Don’t listen to Max, everything is fine.”

The human mage was finishing stringing magically lit baubles in the nearby trees. She and Nikka had created them together, and now they looked even better than Nikka had envisioned. 

“Trista’s right,” Blair agreed with her sister, handing her another string of lights. “Nikka, you’ve thought of pretty much everything. In fact, you’ve probably over planned. Not to a ridiculous degree, but... I think Cassandra would love almost anything you did for her.”

Nikka felt her heart rate slow just a little. Even if it didn’t take away the fear, deep down she knew Blair was right.

“And you,” Blair gently kicked her brother. “We’re here for moral support, not to make things worse.”

Maxwell held up his one hand in false surrender. 

“I’m sorry, Nikka,” he said. “No more teasing.”

“I forgive you,” Nikka said. “I’m also not sure if I believe you.”

“That’s fair.” 

Nikka watched the Trevelyan siblings continue their tasks, and satisfied with their efforts, checked in on her dwarven and elven friends.

Kyla and Alariel were stringing flower petals into garlands, and doing a lovely job of it.

“These are wonderful,” Nikka said warmly. “Thank you.”

“Alariel deserves most of the credit,” Kyla clasped the elf’s shoulder. “I had no idea what I was doing at first, he had to teach me how to get started.”

“And you learned quickly, and did just as much of the work as I did,” Alariel said. “Do not give yourself too little credit.”

“Alright, we did it together,” Kyla agreed as she picked up another handful of petals. “Shared credit.”

“Honestly, shared credit applies to most things we do, doesn’t it?” Nikka said.

“We Inquisitors?” Alariel said. “Yes, we have done a great deal together. Though, arguably, Maxwell has borne the burnt of it all as the Herald.” 

“Oh, what’s one hand in exchange for a safer world?”

Maxwell sauntered over, a big smile on his face as per usual. His sisters followed just behind him, presumably finished with their task. 

Whatever was said next, Nikka missed. She had noticed the sun going down, dusk falling, and realized that Cassandra would arrive soon. Because Nikka had asked her to meet her here at dusk. Just like once before. Why had she been so confident then, yet so nervous now? The fear of her efforts not being good enough, her plans not prepared enough... adrenaline had already been coursing through her all day, but now, with so little time left before Cassandra arrived, doubt had gripped her heart. 

“Nikka?”

Trista’s brought Nikka out of her trance.

“Nikka,” Trista said very gently. “Do you honestly think Cassandra will say no?”

Nikka took a deep breath.

“No, I wouldn’t be proposing if I didn’t know this was what we both wanted. That’s not what I’m nervous about.”

The others allowed her a pause.

“Cassandra deserves to have everything she wants. I just want to know I got it right for her.”

Her fellow Inquisitors threw glances at each other. They were all smiling.

“Nikka,” Blair said warmly. “You did.”

“How do you know?” Nikka said.

“Because I’ve been proposed to.” Blair said. “I didn’t anticipate Sera’s proposal, but it was exactly what I wanted. Because it was her. And it was us, and I loved every moment of it.”

“I can concur,” Kyla said. “It didn’t matter to me how Cullen proposed, I was just happy that he did.”

“And speaking as someone who has been the proposer,” Trista said. “At least for me... once Josie was in front of me it was easy. Because... you know those moments where you feel the full strength of your love for someone?”

Nikka nodded.

“When I knew I was going to ask her, and she was there in front of me, any nervousness I may have had was overwhelmed by love. I needed to ask her to marry me, and it wasn’t difficult at all. Everything was exactly right because we loved each other.”

Nikka closed her eyes, let herself steady.

“You’re right,” she smiled softly. “Cass and I have already discussed marriage, we both know it’s something we want. I still want it all to be perfect, and against all reason a small part of me still doubts, but I do know that nothing else matters as much as me asking and her saying yes.”

“Exactly,” Kyla said. “It will be perfect because of the two of you. I get wanting to make it special, but you have to know it already is.”

“Right,” Nikka nodded. “It’s already special.”

“Now,” Kyla said, laying down her finished garland. “How about we distracted you by teasing the boys about dragging their feet?”

“I’m not dragging my feet,” Alariel offered a small smile. “Dorian has many other important things he has to manage. I would not wish to put any further burden on him.”

“You think you proposing would be a burden?” Kyla asked.

Alariel laid down his last garland.

“Not exactly,” he said. “If I ask him to marry me, he may feel it unfair to make me wait. I wouldn’t want him to feel any pressure to rush into a wedding to please me.”

“Alariel, that’s a conversation you can have with him,” Blair said. “You can tell him you’re happy to wait.”

“Perhaps so.” Alariel said. “I just worry that my asking in itself will seem like an unwillingness to wait, even if I explain otherwise.”

“That can be part of that conversation between the two of you,” Blair said.

“Well, you do make communication sound awfully sensible,” Alariel said. 

“Indeed,” Kyla said. “And what about you, Max?”

Maxwell was uncharacteristically silent.

“Thom and I have been through a lot, both together and apart,” Maxwell absentmindedly cradled the end of his arm in his hand. “We’ve helped each other heal. You know I’m not much good at planning ahead. There were always other things to think about, other ways we were building our relationship. Other ways we were growing as people.”

He paused.

“Perhaps it is time to start thinking about further commitment. Marriage hadn’t been on my mind, but... I think that is what I want. And maybe he doesn’t want to wait anymore. There is a bit of an age gap between us, maybe he’s ready for settling down. And maybe I don’t mind.”

It was rare to see Maxwell so unguardedly thoughtful. But that meant he was serious, and that he cared a great deal.

“It’s a conversation to have with him, at least,” Maxwell said. “We talk about what we want.”

They all let the silence be for a moment. They could be comfortable in it together.

“Well,” Alariel said. “I think this is as long as we can be by your side. Any longer and we risk ruining your solitude with Cassandra.”

“Of course,” Nikka could feel her nerves coming back at the thought of being left alone.

Alariel gently clasped her shoulders.

“I think I can speak for all of us when I say we were glad to be here, offering solace for as long as we could. But now it is time for just you and your beloved. It would not be the same if we were here when she arrived.”  
“And you know it, because that was exactly the plan you laid out for us,” Maxwell said, his smile returning. 

“I know,” Nikka nodded. “I know.”

“Trust me,” Trista said. “It will be easier than you fear.”

“You’re right,” Nikka said. “I’ll be alright.”

It was not said with great confidence, but it was a start.

Nikka watched her friends disappear, and tried not to scare herself in the solitude. Over thinking was easier to curtail with someone to talk to. That was why she’d asked her friends to wait with her in the first place. In the silence worry was harder to overcome. 

She inspected the all the elements of her setup too many times; candles, flowers, strung lights and garlands, nothing was out of place. Yet she kept checking. And pacing. 

She heard footsteps approaching. 

A wave of adrenaline rushed through her. The waiting was ending, and now all she could do was play out her plan. Possibly with some spur-of-the-moment alterations, she knew not everything was likely to go according to script. 

But they would go right.

A sense of calm overtook her. Now that the moment was here... she knew it would be alright. However it went, it would be alright. Because Cassandra loved her. She knew that.

Cassandra stepped into view. And she smiled so fondly at Nikka. 

The fear was gone, at least in this moment. Because Nikka loved Cassandra. And that, in all its depth, was all she felt. And it was all that she needed to make this night perfect.


End file.
